1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to instruments for bone modifications at a hip joint and, more particularly, for instruments designed for a patient's specific bone and cartilage.
2. Related Art
Current instrumentation is generally hard to learn, difficult to use, and time consuming. Costs may be reduced by reducing the time required to perform the surgery, as well as requiring fewer instruments. Additionally, patient specific instrumentation may also limit the invasiveness of instruments, may provide faster recovery times, and fewer complications (for example, by lowering the risk of clotting).
Work in patient specific instruments has focused primarily on the knee joint. Some art offhandedly refers to instruments and methods that may additionally be used for the hip joint. However, the art generally does not specifically focus on the important differences of the hip joint relative to the knee joint, nor focus on the specific orientations necessary at the hip for proper placement of a prosthetic device.
There remains a need in the art for a patient specific alignment guide for a proximal femur. Specifically, there is a need to provide a better and easier way of performing femoral head resurfacing procedures.